The 2001 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2000–01 season, and the culmination of the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils and the Western Conference champion and Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche. It was Colorado's second appearance in the Final, and the first since the team won the Cup in 1996. It was New Jersey's third appearance in the Final and second straight appearance after winning the Cup in the previous year.
Colorado defeated New Jersey in seven games to win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Colorado's Patrick Roy was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 2001 playoffs. This was the first Stanley Cup Final since that would be decided in the maximum seven games. This was also the first and, as of , most recent Final since that the number one seeds in each conference met in the Final. This marked the only time in NHL history where two teams who occupied the same market at different times faced off against each other. The Devils were based out of Denver as the Colorado Rockies from 1976 to 1982 and the Avalanche established themselves in the city in 1995 after relocating from Quebec City.
Paths to the Final
New Jersey Devils New Jersey finished the regular season with 111 points and an Atlantic Division title, good for the first overall seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4–2, the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 to advance to the Final.
Colorado Avalanche Colorado finished the regular season with 118 points and a Northwest Division title, good for the first overall seed in the Western Conference, and the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the league's best regular season record. In the playoffs, they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4–0, the Los Angeles Kings 4–3 and the St. Louis Blues 4–1 to advance to the Final.
Game summaries
Game one
Colorado centre Joe Sakic scored his 10th and 11th goal of the playoffs in the first and second periods of game one. The Avalanche smothered the New Jersey defense and scored five goals in the game. Patrick Roy stopped all 25 shots he faced to record his third shutout of the postseason. Late in the third period, Steven Reinprecht scored to make the game 5–0. Initially, referee Dan Marouelli thought Martin Brodeur had made a save and called no goal, but after video review, it was revealed that the puck slipped through Brodeur's legs and crossed the goal line. Following Reinprecht initially denied goal, things culminated in a fistfight between Colorado forward Chris Dingman and New Jersey defenseman Sean O'Donnell. O'Donnell also received a minor penalty for instigating the fight and was a given a misconduct. The third period had a total tally of 44 penalty minutes accumulated by both clubs. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st COL Joe Sakic (10) Milan Hejduk (14) and Rob Blake (11) 11:07 1–0 COL 2nd COL Chris Drury (9) Dan Hinote (2) and Ville Nieminen (5) 09:35 2–0 COL COL Joe Sakic (11) Rob Blake (12) and Martin Skoula (5) 15:06 3–0 COL 3rd COL Rob Blake (5) – pp Alex Tanguay (13) and Joe Sakic (13) 05:36 4–0 COL COL Steven Reinprecht (2) Chris Dingman (3) and Dave Reid (3) 17:36 5–0 COL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Colin White Holding 04:28 2:00 COL Shjon Podein Elbowing 13:46 2:00 2nd COL Greg de Vries Boarding 07:01 2:00 COL Alex Tanguay Tripping 10:46 2:00 COL Ville Nieminen Goaltender interference 14:16 2:00 NJ Ken Daneyko Boarding 14:16 2:00 3rd COL Dan Hinote Holding 03:30 2:00 NJ Turner Stevenson Goaltender interference 04:45 2:00 COL Adam Foote Roughing – double minor 08:04 4:00 NJ Petr Sykora Charging 08:04 2:00 NJ Colin White Roughing 08:04 2:00 NJ Ken Daneyko Roughing 09:43 2:00 NJ Ken Daneyko Slashing 09:43 2:00 COL Shjon Podein Tripping 11:34 2:00 NJ Sean O'Donnell Roughing 11:34 2:00 COL Greg de Vries Tripping 13:20 2:00 COL Chris Dingman Fighting – major 17:36 5:00 NJ Sean O'Donnell Instigator 17:36 2:00 NJ Sean O'Donnell Fighting – major 17:36 5:00 NJ Sean O'Donnell Misconduct 17:36 10:00 COL Dan Hinote Roughing 18:20 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 11 7 25 14 7 9 30
Game two
The second game began with goals in the first period by Colorado's Sakic and New Jersey's Bob Corkum and Turner Stevenson. The 2–1 lead by the Devils held throughout the game as they defeated the Avalanche to even the series at one game apiece.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st COL Joe Sakic (12) – pp Milan Hejduk (15) and Rob Blake (13) 05:58 1–0 COL NJ Bob Corkum (1) Brian Rafalski (9) 14:29 1–1 NJ Turner Stevenson (1) Scott Niedermayer (9) and Alexander Mogilny (10) 17:20 2–1 NJ 2nd None 3rd None Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Scott Niedermayer Cross-checking 01:43 2:00 NJ Sergei Brylin Interference 04:53 2:00 NJ Patrik Elias Slashing 12:28 2:00 COL Eric Messier Roughing 14:46 2:00 COL Adam Foote Holding the stick 15:17 2:00 NJ Bobby Holik Slashing 19:39 2:00 2nd COL Greg de Vries Interference 09:11 2:00 NJ John Madden Embellishment 09:11 2:00 COL Martin Skoula Holding 14:47 2:00 3rd NJ Ken Daneyko Cross-checking 01:28 2:00 COL Ville Nieminen Roughing 02:58 2:00 NJ Colin White Roughing 02:58 2:00 NJ Alexander Mogilny High-sticking 04:26 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 12 6 2 20 8 4 8 20
Game three
Game three was held in New Jersey. Devils centre Jason Arnott scored an early power-play goal, but in the tenth minute, the Avalanche evened through defenceman Martin Skoula. Neither team scored any goals in the second period. Early in the third, Colorado defenceman Ray Bourque scored a power-play goal to break the tie. Five minutes later, Colorado winger Dan Hinote scored the team's third goal, and the Devils did not respond. The win by Colorado marked another road win in the series.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NJ Jason Arnott (8) – pp Bobby Holik (9) and Patrik Elias (12) 03:16 1–0 NJ COL Martin Skoula (1) Shjon Podein (3) and Eric Messier (2) 10:38 1–1 2nd None 3rd COL Ray Bourque (4) – pp Joe Sakic (10) 00:31 2–1 COL COL Dan Hinote (2) Ville Nieminen (6) and Chris Drury (5) 06:28 3–1 COL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st COL Adam Foote Tripping 01:29 2:00 COL Stephane Yelle Interference 06:28 2:00 NJ Sergei Brylin Interference 14:29 2:00 COL Alex Tanguay Hooking 15:03 2:00 COL Ville Nieminen Boarding 16:29 2:00 2nd NJ Sean O'Donnell Cross-checking 02:40 2:00 NJ Sean O'Donnell Holding 08:25 2:00 COL Adam Foote Tripping 14:52 2:00 NJ Jason Arnott Boarding 19:02 2:00 3rd COL Jon Klemm Holding 08:22 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 5 11 5 21 8 3 11 22
Game four
In the first period of game four, Colorado scored an early goal when Rob Blake shot the puck past Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur. Patrik Elias and New Jersey responded when he scored a short-handed goal to even the score at one goal apiece. Later in the second, Avalanche centre Chris Drury scored to give the Avalanche a one-goal lead going into the third period. But the third period belonged to the Devils: Scott Gomez and Petr Sykora each scored a goal in the third, and Brodeur stopped every puck that went his way. The New Jersey offence overwhelmed the Avalanche defence as they managed 35 shots; Colorado managed only 12 shots. New Jersey again evened the series, this time at two games apiece.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st COL Rob Blake (6) Alex Tanguay (14) 03:58 1–0 COL 2nd NJ Patrik Elias (8) – sh Petr Sykora (11) 03:42 1–1 COL Chris Drury (10) Chris Dingman (4) and Dan Hinote (3) 13:54 2–1 COL 3rd NJ Scott Gomez (5) Jay Pandolfo (4) and Bob Corkum (2) 08:09 2–2 NJ Petr Sykora (9) Patrik Elias (4) and Bobby Holik (10) 17:23 3–2 NJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Turner Stevenson Interference 01:36 2:00 NJ Scott Gomez Goaltender interference 04:42 2:00 COL Stephane Yelle Embellishment 07:15 2:00 NJ Petr Sykora Hooking 07:15 2:00 NJ Scott Stevens Hooking 07:42 2:00 COL Joe Sakic Hooking 08:26 2:00 2nd NJ Colin White Roughing 02:18 2:00 COL Martin Skoula Interference 08:25 2:00 NJ Turner Stevenson Tripping 14:52 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 4 4 4 12 8 11 16 35
Game five
In Colorado for game five, Devils forward Patrik Elias started the scoring for the Devils as they jumped out to an early one-goal lead. Exactly seven minutes later, Colorado winger Alex Tanguay tied the game on the power-play. However, in the late minutes of the first period, New Jersey forward Alexander Mogilny scored the game's eventual winner. In the second period, Devils forward Sergei Brylin scored a power-play goal to give the Devils a two-goal lead, and in the third period, centre John Madden scored a fourth goal for insurance. The Devils won and reclaimed the home-ice advantage; they eventually won 4–1. They forced the Avalanche to try to win on the road to force a Game 7 in Denver.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NJ Patrik Elias (9) Petr Sykora (12) and Brian Rafalski (10) 03:09 1–0 NJ COL Alex Tanguay (3) – pp Joe Sakic (11) and Ray Bourque (6) 10:09 1–1 NJ Alexander Mogilny (5) Scott Gomez (11) and Brian Rafalski (11) 18:47 2–1 NJ 2nd NJ Sergei Brylin (3) Alexander Mogilny (11) and Scott Niedermayer (6) 04:39 3–1 NJ 3rd NJ John Madden (4) Turner Stevenson (3) and Sergei Brylin (4) 18:05 4–1 NJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Bobby Holik Tripping 08:56 2:00 NJ Bench (served by Scott Gomez) Too many men on the ice 19:24 2:00 2nd COL Rob Blake Interference 03:53 2:00 NJ Scott Niedermayer Interference 16:33 2:00 3rd COL Adam Foote Roughing 10:11 2:00 NJ Scott Stevens Roughing 10:11 2:00 NJ Jim McKenzie Holding 12:54 2:00 COL Dan Hinote Roughing 20:00 2:00 NJ Ken Sutton Roughing 20:00 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 10 10 26 6 9 8 23
Game six
Game six paralleled game one for the Avalanche. The Devils tested the Avalanche early with a barrage of shots on goaltender Patrick Roy. After stopping them all, and with two minutes remaining in the first period, Colorado defenceman Adam Foote scored an unassisted goal to give the Avalanche the lead on just their fourth shot. Early in the second period, Avalanche winger Ville Nieminen scored a power-play goal, and late in the second period, Drury scored his 11th goal of the playoffs to give the Avalanche a commanding lead entering the third period. Alex Tanguay scored the only goal of the third period and the Avalanche won to force a deciding game seven in Denver. Late in the third period, tensions boiled over and fights broke out. Despite New Jersey outshooting Colorado and Colorado's high number of penalty minutes, the Devils were unable to put anything past Roy, who made 24 saves to record his fourth shutout of the postseason, and his second shutout of the Cup Final.